University Park former mayor arrested for possession on child pornography

UNIVERSITY PARK, Md. — The former mayor of University Park, Md. was arrested and faces over 30 counts of child pornography charges Wednesday after an FBI investigation uncovered an alleged hard-drive with 45,000 files containing images of exploited children he kept while in office. 

In March, the FBI was notified of an ongoing investigation against Biermann for federal pornography violations, including the production, distribution, and possession of child pornography. In May a judge ordered a search warrant of Biermann's Facebook account. 

When officials reviewed the account they found 4,500 chat messages dated between January 2021 and December 2023 between Biermann and a person police have not identified. During the conversations Biermann would request explicit pictures of young boys in exchange for money. 

Officials also uncovered that Biermann was paying for camera equipment and providing money for location rentals for these young boys to be abused. By March 2024, the FBI subpoenaed Biermann's PayPal account and found that he had paid the unknown person $858.01 between January 2023 and March 2024 for content of the young boys. 

All the while Biermann, had been living a double life, running for re-election as the mayor of University Park. His re-election campaign platform "Protecting Our Children".

Biermann was mayor of University Park from 2022 until June.  The town is in Prince George's County and has a population of around 2,500. 

In October a court ordered a search warrant of Biermann's home. Officials located hard drives with numerous folders containing child pornography. After search each folder on the hard drives, officials say they recovered 45,000 files of child pornography. The files ranged from photos and videos of young boys to media files of Biermann exposed. 

A search of Biermann's office was also conducted. There, officials located a pair of young boy's underwear and a blow up doll with anatomy similar to a child.

Biermann appeared in court on Wednesday for a bond review. A judge ruled that Biermann will be held without bond for his heinous act. His next hearing is scheduled for Nov. 27.